According to section 718.1 of the Criminal Code, Sentencing in Canada “must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender”. Despite that being said, the system tends to leave the final decision to the judge. In 2015, the population of adult offenders showed a decline in the overall adult population at 461 offenders per 100,000 adults (Reitano, 2016) and drug related offences decreased by 15% between 2014 and 2015 (Allen, 2016). Looking at the offenders’ population from a gender point of view, women offenders come at 15% of the correctional population (Reitano, 2016). Although most offenders tend not to end up incarcerated, challenges arise due to the specific needs of the different types of offenders. In this paper I seek to show the challenges arising for both the female offenders and the drugs related offenders in regards to inmate population, correctional personal, and the community, I will support my view through showing the problems as well as the solutions that the government offers for each population. First, even though the offender population is declining, there tend to be issues and overcrowding when it comes to incarcerated offenders. Female offenders tend to be very distinct from the male offenders and require a more careful treatment; also there is a noticed increase of the female percentage in the inmate population in the past years . Unlike male offenders, female offenders need more health and mental care, which can get expensive. Female offenders tend to have higher rates of abuse victimization than male offenders that would require much more mental health treatment (Griffiths, 2015 p. 251). According to a study of female juvenile offenders, most the female offenders tend to report a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) whether due to witnessing crime or personal victimization. Aside from PTSD, female offenders in the study reported having depression, conduct disorder anxiety disorders and ADHD (Dixon, Howie, & Starling, 2005). The government works on providing better care and treatment for the female inmate population in both the health and rehabilitation aspects. According to the Correction and Conditional Release Act, the correctional services must provide “every inmate with essential health care and reasonable access to non-essential mental health care that will contribute to the inmate’s rehabilitation and successful reintegration in the community” (Health Services, 2014). The health services in prison include inside the institution nurses, psychologists and social workers; if an inmate needs complicated and urgent medical help they would get transferred to the hospital. As for the drugs related offenders, three out of four inmates go into jail with substance problem (Substance Abuse, 2015). The statistics show that it is the one of the biggest problems in institutions and the government focuses on fixing that through security measures, substance abuse programs, and harm reduction measures (Substance Abuse, 2015). The institutions take security measures in order to insure that drugs wouldn’t enter the premises; security checks and
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The correctional officers are required to develop a relationship with the inmates despite their principle of “never trust an inmate” (Griffiths, 2015, p. 255); this relationship helps them noticing signals and cues in the inmates behaviors to avoid any dangerous situation. Unfortunately some officers tend to abuse that relationship and authority for their personal gain. For the female offenders, they tend to have more needs like hygiene and psychiatric needs, some officers tend to take advantage of that especially the male ones. In June, a male officer was arrested due to sexually abusing two female inmates. Many female prisoners reported being abused, threatened and forced to have sex with the guards, and with the guards’ authority and power as well as the inmates’ mental state there rarely tend to be any consequences for the guards (Brown, 2016).
There tend to be the same issue facing drug related offenders, with officers abusing their powers for their personal gains. Drug related offenders tend to have substance abuse issues and with inability to access any drugs in prison they don’t tend to think straight and be quite vulnerable. In February, a female correctional officer was arrested for having sex a male inmate in exchange for drugs. According to the New York code, inmates can’t consent for sex, which counted the instant as rape (Caplan-Bricker,
The correctional officers are required to develop a relationship with the inmates despite their principle of “never trust an inmate” (Griffiths, 2015, p. 255); this relationship helps them noticing signals and cues in the inmates behaviors to avoid any dangerous situation. Unfortunately some officers tend to abuse that relationship and authority for their personal gain. For the female offenders, they tend to have more needs like hygiene and psychiatric needs, some officers tend to take advantage of that especially the male ones. In June, a male officer was arrested due to sexually abusing two female inmates. Many female prisoners reported being abused, threatened and forced to have sex with the guards, and with the guards’ authority and power as well as the inmates’ mental state there rarely tend to be any consequences for the guards (Brown, 2016).
There tend to be the same issue facing drug related offenders, with officers abusing their powers for their personal gains. Drug related offenders tend to have substance abuse issues and with inability to access any drugs in prison they don’t tend to think straight and be quite vulnerable. In February, a female correctional officer was arrested for having sex a male inmate in exchange for drugs. According to the New York code, inmates can’t consent for sex, which counted the instant as rape (Caplan-Bricker,